Carlsberg return could turn Liverpool football shirt into a classic

Liverpool FC’s front-of-shirt sponsorship is approaching a pivotal moment, with Standard Chartered’s £50m-per-year deal up for renewal in 2027. As the market shifts towards low and no alcohol branding, Carlsberg may just have the perfect opportunity to return to Anfield’s most visible real estate.

Few sponsorships have etched themselves so deeply into collective memory as Liverpool and Carlsberg. The Danish brewer became the club’s front-of-shirt sponsor in 1992 and stayed there until 2010, an 18-year run during which its green logo became almost as iconic as the crest itself. According to Liverpool FC, the relationship remains the longest-running in Premier League history.

It was in 2010, the same year Fenway Sports Group took over, that Standard Chartered stepped in. The bank has since paid a reported £50m annually, making it one of the league’s most valuable shirt deals. That contract ends in 2027, and while nothing is certain, timing matters.

The commercial reality

Liverpool are in their financial pomp. When FSG arrived, annual commercial revenue was £62m. Now, it exceeds £300m. As reported by The Sponsor, the fair market value of Liverpool’s front-of-shirt rights currently sits at £65.9m per season. That is £15.9m more than the Standard Chartered deal is currently worth, making the asset underpriced in relative terms.

Negotiations for a new deal are already underway. With the club now Premier League champions and a lucrative Adidas kit deal worth between £60m and £90m per year just beginning, the leverage is firmly in Liverpool’s corner. FSG will be seeking a partner capable of matching their ambitions both financially and culturally.

The Spanish example

Football is rediscovering its taste for beer logos, albeit with a twist. In Spain, clubs such as Real Valladolid, Celta Vigo and Deportivo La Coruña have embraced low and no alcohol beer sponsorships to bypass restrictions and tap into a deep seam of nostalgia. As reported by the drinks business, Estrella Galicia has returned to these shirts via its alcohol-free range, producing designs that resonate with fans and fashion-conscious collectors alike.

Why Carlsberg fits the moment

Carlsberg already has history at Anfield and, crucially, a future. The company extended its partnership with Liverpool until 2034, as per Liverpool FC (7 December 2023), remaining the club’s official beer. Moving its alcohol-free range, Carlsberg 0.0, to the shirt would be a natural evolution rather than a return.

It would also align with broader shifts in the alcohol sector. Guinness has partnered with the Premier League, prominently pushing its Guinness 0.0 brand. Walsall FC have signed a deal with NoFo Brew Co for their 2025/26 front-of-shirt. Low and no alcohol products are increasingly the entry point for brands wanting broad appeal in a more regulated sponsorship landscape.

Carlsberg’s original run on Liverpool’s shirt defined an era. Bringing back the logo in its modern, zero-alcohol form would marry nostalgia with modernity, a rare feat in football sponsorship where Middle Eastern airlines and betting companies reign supreme.

The shirt as a cultural artefact

Football shirts are not just commercial property. They are cultural artefacts, worn as fashion, collected like rare vintages and scrutinised with the seriousness usually reserved for fine wine labels.

Nostalgia sells. Shirt sales are increasingly driven by aesthetic appeal as much as tribal loyalty. A Carlsberg logo, softly updated for 2027, would offer both.

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